MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki has dug himself into a hole after he was caught lying about the involvement of his brother in the shares purchase debacle, observers said.

Previously, Azam said his brother, Nasir, had used Azam’s trading account to buy shares in 2015 and that the shares were later transferred to Nasir, leaving Azam with no pecuniary interest.

However, yesterday, the Securities Commission (SC) said evidence showed that Azam “is the named account holder and had control of the said trading account” and that he “operated the account that he had opened, in that he had given instructions to buy, sell and transfer securities from the said account”.

Prominent lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla told The Malaysian Insight that Attorney-General Idrus Harun must now form a special task force to look into this fiasco, as Azam previous statement clearly contradicted the SC’s findings.

“Yes, Azam had not breached any laws if we take into account what the SC had said.

“However, on January 5, Azam told the media that his name was used by his brother and he had no interest in stock trading. Therefore, his statement now contradicts the findings of the SC.”

The SC’s investigation was to ascertain if Azam had breached section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act, which stipulates that every central depository securities account opened must be in the name of the beneficial owner of the deposited securities or an authorised nominee.

On that score, Azam had not breached any laws.

However, observers are demanding that Azam be accountable for lying when he brought up his brother’s supposed involvement in the shares purchase.

“Now everyone, including the prime minister, the select committee and the opposition must demand the AG form a special task force, as former AG Gani Patail did to look into the 1MDB scandal back in 2015,” Haniff said.

Before the SC cleared Azam of any wrongdoing, the agency claimed that it was “not able to conclusively establish” if the MACC chief had broken the law.

The brief announcement of its inconclusive findings irked DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng, who accused it of a cover-up.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Siti Kasim said statements from the SC and Azam had raised more questions than answers.

She reiterated the need for an independent inquiry headed by parliament to get to the bottom of this issue.

“Both the head of MACC and the Securities Commission are public trust agencies entrusted to uphold the law and both must not just be clean but be seen as being above reproach,” Siti said.

“That has obviously come into question. The only right thing to do is for Parliament to form an open independent inquiry comprising upstanding individuals.

Calls for Azam to be put on leave have gained momentum since last week but he said he will only do so at the king’s request.

Dishonest Azam not fit to lead MACC

Pejuang information chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin accused Azam of being dishonest and urged the government to act by sacking the anti-graft chief.

He also slammed Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for not acting firmly.

“The SC’s statement just proved to us that Azam lied to the whole nation,” Ulya said.

“On top of his controversial shares purchase, he is now being accused of misinforming and lying to the public.

“This is totally unacceptable. If the very body that is supposed to curb corruption is led by a dishonest man, it paints a disgusting picture of the integrity of the institution.”

He said whatever the outcome of the investigation, Azam must be forced to leave for his lies and dishonesty.

“We cannot have a dishonest man leading the anti-graft agency.”

Ulya also took offence to Ismail’s statement yesterday, when the prime minister urged everyone to accept the SC’s findings.

“The SC has made a decision… (this matter) was left to the SC as it involves the purchase of shares. The SC has made a decision and it says there is no case against him (Azam), so we accept the SC’s decision,” he said.

“The prime minister’s statement is just plain ignorance and does not return public confidence in the MACC at all,” Ulya said.

“It is irresponsible and rather dismissive if he does not see the foul play and dubiousness of this issue.”

He said Ismail should hold Azam liable and sack him at least for his dishonesty to the public.

Put Azam on leave

Haniff and Siti agreed Azam must be put on leave pending investigation.

Haniff added that Azam can be reinstated once the investigations are completed and he is given the all-clear.

“The Public Services Commission must order Azam to go on leave at least until the probe ends.”

“If he has any integrity left in him, he should have gone but if not the SPA can give the order,” Haniff said.

The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) urged the government to proceed with the Special Select Committee on Agencies meeting.

Abim president, Mohamad Rahimi Rahim said the hearing must be Ismail’s priority if he wished to uphold transparency.

“It has been postponed but now they need to have it as soon as possible. More so after Azam has been caught making a dubious statement,” Rahimi said.

“The hearing or the findings must be made public and there must be no cover up.”

Earlier today, a DAP lawmaker urged the AG to clarify if Azam had committed an offence.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said that Azam’s conflicting statements was a pertinent point that the SC had failed to address in its statement yesterday. – January 20, 2022.